Government Takes Over
by Coleiosis
Summary: Commander Mason is bailing Ratchet out of jail, knowing that Agent Stone has the key to a mysterious plan involving special powers. Mason must also find an antidote to cure Ratchet of his monstrous madness. Bonus: a special dual between Agent Shepard and Agent Stone! Rated T for blood, mild violence, and scary situations


PlayStation All-Stars: Breaking Reckoning

Part Five: Government Takes Over

By Cole Bezotte

Ratchet sat alone in his prison cell, engulfed with the sadness that overpowered him so easily. He felt as if he would never get out of this trouble that was caused by the creator of the most deadly competition ever created: Calypso, founder of Twisted Metal.

Outside his cell stood Agent Shepard talking with Agent Stone. Stone was more upset than ever after seeing Ratchet's doing early that morning. "I want him under a twenty-four-hour guard!" Agent Stone said to Shepard. "Make sure that he never escapes no matter how hard he tries!"

"You can count on me, Stone," Agent Shepard replied. "But I don't know why they all call you 'Stone.'"

"It's probably because of my beautiful disposition," Stone said as he walked out of the hall. "You have the keys to all these cells, so you know what to do." With that, he was no longer in sight.

But right when Stone had left the hall, Commander Mason walked right into the scene and tried pleading Shepard to let Ratchet out. "You're still making a big mistake, mister! Ratchet is the only thing that can help stop the villains from their scheme!"

"Talk to him all you want," Shepard replied. "But he stays where he belongs! There's no use arguing about it!"

Commander Mason thought that Ratchet was a goner at first. But then, he thought of an idea that would make things go along much smoother. "So he stays where he belongs, eh?" he continued. "You have forgotten about having him hanged tomorrow. Why don't you go and prepare everything while I keep him under my guard."

"I hate to say this," Shepard replied, "but your idea strikes my fancy. Here are the keys; don't let him out even if you have the sudden urge to!"

"I see your point, agent… sadly." Once Agent Shepard left the hall to prepare for the hanging, Mason found that it would be the perfect opportunity to free Ratchet from his cell. "It was a bluff that certainly paid off," Mason thought to himself. "Now for me to take Ratchet out of that cell!" He snuck towards Ratchet's cell door and used the keys to open it, seeing that Ratchet was already in chains. "Ratchet! We must hurry before the agents see us! I'm getting you out of here!"

"No!" Ratchet replied. "Just leave me here! It's what I deserve best!"

"Ratchet, I'm not letting you down! Your friends want to help you as well as I am. They want to help you turn the tide with Calypso and score our ultimate victory! Think of it this way: I'm freeing you from this prison cell just like your friends had freed you from here before. (As seen from our first story) It's worth a try."

Ratchet was finally comforted after hearing this. "That is very thoughtful of you, commander," he said. "But we have to hurry; it's sunset right now and will soon be night again. I don't want you to see me as…"

"I know!" Mason interrupted. "I just don't want to hear you say things like that; it really breaks my heart. I want to help you, Ratchet, so let's get out of here fast!" With that, Mason used the keys to unlock Ratchet's chains and led him down the hall. "Come with me," he continued. "We're going to have a little talk with the agents. I know the secret behind Stone's little scheme. I know where he's keeping the one antidote that will make you no longer transform."

In the next room that Mason and Ratchet were heading to, Agent Stone was talking on the phone with a mysterious figure on the other line. "Yes, sir. We have the Lombax that you wanted. You're in luck once we take him for our own good purposes. I'll make sure that Agent Shepard does not get in our way. Thank you, sir. Good-bye."

But right when Stone hung up the phone, he suddenly heard the sound of a door's click. He turned and saw that Mason and Ratchet had found his secret hiding place. "What are you doing here?!" Stone exclaimed at them. "How dare you intrude in here, when all of the U.S. Government can stop you!"

"I want to talk with you, Stone!" Mason replied. "I know what you've been doing behind the U.S. Government's back the whole time!"

Just then, Agent Shepard heard what was going on and entered the room. "What's going on here?!" he spoke up. "What's all this commotion about?!"

"You've got nothing on me, you fools!" Stone came in. "Nothing!"

"Oh yes, we do!" Mason replied. "Your loyal Underworld creatures told everything!"

"Underworld?!" Shepard said in surprise, with his eyes widening. "That means…"

"Of course, you fool!" Stone said. "We can drop the agent act now. I am the man known as Stone, taking orders from Calypso himself!"

"I knew it!" Mason exclaimed. "You are in league with Calypso and his evil deeds! I know your secrets, Stone! You can't hide them! I know exactly what you've been up to for the past ten years! After joining the U.S. Government, you heard that Calypso was opening up his Twisted Metal competition. You won one of the first runs and asked to be part of the government FOREVER! Your wish was granted; and so you started giving orders to other senators and agents, planning to create a weapon of mass destruction. It would be powerful enough to destroy the entire world! And so, you thought that the best source of a weapon like that would be from outer space. But first, you needed evidence for if aliens truly exist or not. So you won the recorder-box as your next prize; you found out the evidence about Ratchet soon coming to Earth. Now you have him right here standing right in front of you. You want his powerful DNA as an all-absorbing radiation; you would fill it inside a giant Power Missile and use it to destroy this entire planet! Then you would travel from planet to planet, destroying them so that no life would exist anymore! You and Calypso want to create a kingdom in outer space, with power enough to create planets of your own! Every new life form would obey Calypso's every whim and command!"

"How do you know all this?!" Stone exclaimed.

"The president of the United States told me so! He finds you as untrustworthy and no longer wishes to have you in the U.S. Government!"

"Well, isn't that something?! I planned to tell the president that I would quit right before using the missile. But little does he know that Ratchet here has slaughtered all those people out in the city."

Ratchet took a step forward and gave Stone a piece of his mind: "But he should also know that it isn't my fault! Calypso tricked me!"

"On the contrary, Ratchet," Stone replied, "It is actually I who had tricked you! After seeing you kill those people and meeting up with Primeval, he started liking you more. He thought that you would be a great servant in his new kingdom. So he asked me to create the potion that would soon make you a monster, and I made it for him to give to you after winning the Twisted Metal tournament. Believe me, it wasn't that hard."

Agent Shepard thought for a moment while Stone, Mason, and Ratchet were talking. Then he finally spoke up again: "Ratchet, you must leave now! I'll hold Stone off as long as possible!" With that, he drew out his pistol and pointed it at Stone's chest.

"How brave of you, Shepard," Stone taunted. "But do you even have the guts to pull the trigger on me?"

"Perhaps I would, Stone. I hereby say that you are no longer a part of the U.S. Government, and are now relieved of all your duties as agent!"

"Well, if I can't perform my plan one way, I'll do it another!" Stone immediately punched Shepard across the face and tried to wrench his gun from his hands. Shepard was knocked down to the floor, but he immediately got back up and shoved Stone to the wall.

"I'll snuff that breath out of you somehow!" Shepard exclaimed as his fight with the ex-agent continued.

But Ratchet did not watch their battle. He felt his head throbbing and his throat aching heavily. The fantastic change was about to happen again. "Mason, help me! I feel it coming on again! It must be nighttime already."

"Well," Mason replied. "Don't worry, Ratchet! I've got you covered! Who else would make an antidote to that potion other than Stone?" With that, he pulled out a brown and saggy sack. "This here contains the antidote to the deadly poison that has overcome you. Unless you drink it quickly, you can lose sense of all right and wrong!" He opened the bag and looked inside, but only to find that the liquid antidote had spilled all over the inside of the sack. "No wonder it felt damp and soggy!" Mason exclaimed. "It has spilled all over!"

"Wait! I have a better idea! I'll put myself into the sack and ABSORB the antidote in there!"

"That's a very good idea you have there, my boy! Quickly! Hop inside!" Mason held the bag open enough for Ratchet to step inside and coat himself with the special potion that would heal him.

"This stuff is really good," Ratchet spoke while he sat there in the bag. "What is this made out of?"

"It's Nanotech, my boy!" Mason said as he popped his head into the bag. "It's the thing that heals aliens so easily!"

"Nanotech!" Ratchet exclaimed. "My life's blood! It's very useful! I feel better again already!"

"Glad to hear that. But we must get out of here quickly! Agent Shepard will take care of Stone, so we must go and settle the score with Calypso! Let's go!" With that, Mason (holding Ratchet inside the sack) darted out of the prison building and started heading for his car Warthog. Once he got outside, a guard standing by his post looked at him and asked him what was in the bag. Grumpily, Mason barked at the guard, saying: "None of your business! Get out of my way!" Once Mason reached his car, he hopped inside, fired up the ignition, and quickly drove out of the parking lot. "Hang on, Ratchet!" Mason continued while Ratchet (still in the bag) was placed on the passenger seat. "This might be a bumpy ride for you!"

Meanwhile, Agent Shepard was still wrestling with Stone, trying to gain the upper hand. While he was pinned to the wall, Stone managed to punch Shepard right in the stomach, causing him to tremble to his knees in pain. "Look at you!" Stone taunted as he saw Shepard writhe in agony. "The great Agent Shepard! Protector of Los Angeles! Champion of the U.S. Government! How easily the mighty could be defeated!"

But Shepard did not give up; he quickly flung his gun up and smacked Stone in the face with it. The impact broke Stone's sunglasses and shattered the pieces across his face. "Pretty neat trick there, pal!" Stone said as he picked pieces of broken glass of his face. "Let's see if I can match it!"

"You talk way too much, Stone!" Shepard replied as he got back up to his feet. "You might as well give up now!"

"There's always another chance for me! We both know the old saying: 'At first if you don't succeed, try again!'" With that, Stone gave Shepard a big blow (using his fist) on the head so powerful, it knocked Shepard back down to the ground again. Shepard reached up to feel that his head was bleeding. "Since when did a U.S. agent fail so miserably!?" Stone continued. "You're pathetic!"

"Yeah?!" Shepard said as he flung his legs, tripping Stone to the floor with him. "Well, I say you SUCK just as much as I do! Now hand over my gun!" Shepard reached forward to snatch his pistol from Stone and pointed it again at his opponent's chest.

"Well, you got me!" Stone said as the battle came close to its turning point. "You're probably gonna shoot me, are you?!"

"I do have an itching desire to pull the trigger and end your life," Shepard replied. "But I'm not! Instead, you're going to tell me where that recorder-box is! I want to erase all evidence that you've put upon this innocent planet!" Shepard had gained the upper hand in this battle against an accomplice of Calypso's. "It's up to Ratchet now," Shepard thought to himself. "And yet, I don't know how Ratchet could be the one responsible for all that damage done to the city. Perhaps it IS something that has taken control over his mind. I've got to figure it all out, right after I take care of that box."

Meanwhile, Commander Mason and Ratchet were zooming through the streets of Los Angeles, looking for where Calypso might have been located. But there had been some hazards along the way; Darkside, Minion, and Manslaughter were the vehicles that came driving straight towards Mason, eager to fire their weapons.

Once Mr. Ash drove Darkside right up towards Mason, he tried to use his Freeze Flamethrower to toast him after encasing him in a block of ice. But, thanks to Mason's trusty Patriot Missiles, Darkside was blasted away and thrown against a fire truck. The water from the hoses of the fire truck doused out the flames of Darkside's special weapon, leaving it helpless without ammo.

Minion eagerly came to the battle against Mason as he prepared himself for the fight. "This is gonna be FUN!" he said as he opened fire. He fired away his special weapon (homing tri-shot missiles and freeze blast), trying to spread his icy glaze over the opposing army tank and blast it to smithereens at the same time. But Mason was able to duck underneath the missiles and ran his vehicle underneath Minion's, catching Minion off-balance. For revenge, Minion activated the special weapon from various vehicles (Darkside, Outlaw, Thumper, Crimson Fury, Pit Viper, Spectre, Hammerhead, and Roadkill) all at once. To dodge the weapons, Mason turned on his turbo and drove away to safety. "Get back here!" Minion barked at him. "You know you can't escape me that way!"

The last the vehicle that came Mason's way was Manslaughter, driven by the creature Black. "THERE IS NO PLACE FOR YOU TO RUN, COMMANDER!" Black spoke up as he charged at full speed. "YOU ARE TO BE EXTERMINATED!"

"You my friend are a weak apology for a Dalek," Mason replied. "But I'll make sure you don't use your Rolling Crush on a U.S. official like me!"

"BRING IT ON, OLD MAN!" With that, Black charged his vehicle upon Mason's, climbing on top so that he would scrunch up his opponent. But Mason's Patriot Missiles blasted Black off of him, tipping Black's vehicle onto its back.

"Nothing can stand in our way now, Ratchet!" Mason continued. "As long the U.S. Government still pardons you, we can still settle the score with Calypso."

"I'm just in time, then," Ratchet replied as he climbed out of the sack. "I feel all better now!"

"You silly dog," Mason laughed as he pulled out a handkerchief and started wiping away the potion's stains on Ratchet's face. "You'll like as blue as the ocean if you don't wipe off that 'clown makeup.'"

"Wait a minute!" Ratchet exclaimed. "That reminds me; I have to go finish off Needles! He is the real Sweet Tooth, so I must avenge him of Marcus Kane's death!"

"Easy now. We shall do it in due time." Right then, Mason caught sight of something in the center of the city. It was a huge wall that stretched throughout most of the city of Los Angeles. On the brick structure hung many flags with Gigadis' face sewn onto them. On top of the wall stood Gigadis, all proud and standing tall because of this new monument of his glory. Someone approached him; someone soft and light came walking towards him.

"Oh my goodness!" Mason exclaimed. "It's that girl again!"

"Pupuru!" Ratchet said as he looked up to see that she was standing right on top of the wall. "She'll be killed if I don't do something quick!"

"But I have something that can help you," Mason replied as he reached into his pocket and pulled out something mysterious. "Here's mini container full of Nanotech. If it can work on humans, it can heal them quickly. You must only use this if Pupuru is in very grave danger and her health becomes short."

"But how can I?! I wasn't able to save Sasha from Gigadis; I doubt that I would save anyone else! Especially a girl far younger than the one I loved."

"Just think about it this way, Ratchet: this is your chance to show the world that you care! You can show them all about your desire to protect the weak and stand up for what's right. Everything that the world has ever said about you was wrong! You're not a monster or a killer! You are Ratchet, son of Kaden, and hero of the galaxies! You must overcome this evil with the love and passion in your heart!"

"You're right! I shall not give up on this! I must go on and continue to unleash this victory!"

"Now THERE'S a good Lombax who's not willing to quit!" Mason smiled as he handed Ratchet the container. "Good luck, my boy! There is plenty of time to put our ultimate plan into action!"

"Don't worry, Mason!" Ratchet replied as he began to run towards Gigadis' giant structure. "I won't fail you!"

As Mason watched Ratchet quickly climb the stairs to reach the top of the wall, his mind was even more determined than ever to end the evil terror that has already engulfed the world. "It's up to you, Ratchet," he muttered. "You're our only hope to save our planet!" And thus, the adventure is about to end… or is it?

**NEXT TIME: "PLAYSTATION ALL-STARS: BOILING TENSIONS!"**


End file.
